Spring greetings from my garden to yours!

Hellebores (Lenten Rose). One of the few plants the deer decided to leave alone, so far.

Miniature Iris, the ones the deer could not get at. While walking around the property, I discovered a large clump of the blue ones (left photo) blooming, did not have my camera and figured I will take photos the next day. Big a mistake. The deer came through during the early morning hours and had a feast. I was not a happy person.

Had a harvest. The leeks and parsnips were left in the garden (mulched with a thick layer of leaves) last year to see if they would survive the winter. They came through just fine, but this was an unusually warm winter. I will have to try my experiment again this fall.

Leeks, ¾ pounds.
Found a few very tiny carrots, total weight less than 2 ounces but they were very sweet.

Parsnips, 2½ pounds. Not the best looking parsnips, but sweet and tasty.
This year, before planting, I need to make sure the entire parsnip bed is deeply dug and free of stones so the roots will be able to grow long and straight.

Hello Norma,
A well mulched bed of parsnips or leeks will always survive the winter around here. I have pictures of me digging parsnips out from under 10″ of snow and 8″ of shredded leaves late Feb. 2011. The parsnips not dug in Feb. grew in April.
This winter it was so warm that my un-mulched bed of parsnips made it through with no problem.
Mary

I have to add that recent changes at WordPress.com is making it extremely difficult to comment for those of us without accounts there. I hope they change their policies, or I am afraid many people will stop commenting.

Hello Dave,
The deer do not eat the regular irises but sure clean out the miniature ones. May be because there is not much for them to feast on this time of year?????
So sorry I was not aware of an issue regarding trying to comment on WordPress.com, I too hope they fix the problem real soon.

I absolutely love your leeks. They are so beautiful. So many of the gardeners on Daphne’s Dandelions grow garlic. Now that you say it doesn’t take much room, maybe I will put it in for the fall garden. (I tend to have more room for fall garden, because I don’t have as many favorites as I do in summer.)

Hello Cristy,
Thank you, they were sweet and tender.
I grow my garlic in a single row along the edge of my garden beds instead of filling up a bed with just garlic, this way I am able to plant other things in the same area beside the garlic and when I harvest the garlic around mid June the other things get a little extra space.

Norma, thank you for the garden greetings! It’s wonderful! I left some roots and plants to overwinter, and now have some chard, green onions, parsley (a lot!), carrots, dill, collard greens, kale. Your irises are so beutiful, I love the colors.

Hello Marina,
You are so welcome. Yes, the miniature irises are gorgeous, don’t mind sharing some with the deer but sure wish they would display a bit of manners.
That’s a lot you overwintered in your garden, but you have a milder and shorter winter than we do.

Hello FC,
Yes, the irises are beautiful, but they do not last long. The hellebores last a long time.
Glad you enjoyed the tofu and asparagus. Did you scrape away the portabella gills or it is just fussy me doing that?

What a shame about the deer damaging your flowers Norma. You know, I always regret it when I don’t take a photo right away…I guess we have a sense for these things. I would love to cook up your little carrots, as I just love them when they are nice and sweet. Hope you enjoy them!

Hello P & P,
We have so many deer in the area it is a major problem not only damage to vegetations but also lyme and other tick borne diseases.
The little carrots were very tasty. Just washed and steamed for a few minutes, no peeling.

Wow Norma – you sure do have a lot going on in your garden for so early in the season. And yes, your parsnips do look unusual but I bet they’re delicious. I love to make parsnip mash and I’m sure your harvest would be perfect for this. xx

Hello Hotlyspiced,
The parsnips were delicious though a bit challenge to peel. I just cut them into chunks and braised them in a little broth.
Need to make sure I prep the parsnips bed better this year.

I had no idea you could grow leeks in the winter, how lovely is that? I just noticed another blogger pulled out a bunch of winter carrots…what a clever idea, although I doubt they would grow in Toronto, normally it’s just too cold!
Sorry about your floral buffet for the dear; it reminded me of something that happened a couple of years ago. We have a large hydro (electricity) box at our cottage that sits just on the edge of the lake. Why they guys put it right there is beyond me, but at least it is dark green. When it was installed, about 15 years ago, I went out to the back forest and picked out a lovely little ever green that would flourish in front of the box, and cover its hideousness. We brought decent earth from the city (we are on the Canadian shield and there is very little earth) and planted the cut little tree. We watered it and took good care of it and it rewarded us by growing into a wonderful little tree covering the ugly green box. Until last year. Beavers. Need I say more?

Hello Eva,
Must mulch all the overwintering vegetables with a thick layer of leaves, about 8 inches. Don’t think they actually grow much, if at all, during the winter months.
So sorry to learn about the fate of your evergreen tree. Love wild life, but would prefer they stay in the forest. Don’t mind them visiting but wish they would mind their manners, not only do they eat what they are not supposed to they also leave souvenir that I have no use for.

Look at all of those goodies! What an incredible garden you must have. I just planted a bunch of seeds a couple of days ago and I can’t wait to see what happens with them. I’m just hoping they’ll be a little successful!

Hello GD,
Deer is a major issue on my property. Plants they never ate before are now one of their favorite foods. Very few flowers that I can plant. My veggie garden is surrounded with a 10 foot fence, then there are the birds eating my berries and the voles gnawing my root crops.